Car drivers' road safety performance. A benchmark across 32 countries

The road safety performance of a country and the success of policy measures can be measured and monitored in different ways. In addition to the traditional road safety indicators based on the number of fatalities or injured people in road traffic crashes, complementary road safety performance indicators can be used in relation to vehicles, infrastructure, or road users' behaviour. The last-mentioned can be based on data from roadside surveys or from questionnaire surveys. However, results of such surveys are seldom comparable across countries due to differences in aims, scope, or methodology. This paper is based on the second edition of the E-Survey of Road Users' Attitudes (ESRA), an online survey carried out in 2018, and includes data from more than 35,000 road users across 32 countries. The objective is to present the main results of the ESRA survey regarding the four most important risky driving behaviours in traffic: driving under the influence (alcohol/drugs), speeding, mobile phone use while driving, and fatigued driving. The paper explores several aspects related to these behaviours as car driver, such as the self-declared behaviours, acceptability and risk perception, support for policy measures, and opinions on traffic rules and penalties. Results show that despite the high perception of risk and low acceptability of all the risky driving behaviours analysed, there is still a high percentage of car drivers who engage in risky behaviours in traffic in all the regions analysed. Speeding and the use of a mobile phone while driving were the most frequent self-declared behaviours. On the other hand, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was the least declared behaviour. Most respondents support policy measures to restrict risky behaviour in traffic and believe that traffic rules are not being checked regularly enough, and should be stricter. The ESRA survey proved to be a valuable source of information to understand the causes underlying road traffic crashes. It offers a unique database and provides policy makers and researchers with valuable insights into public perception of road safety

From Anderson to anomalous localization in cold atomic gases with effective spin-orbit coupling

We study the dynamics of a one-dimensional spin-orbit coupled Schrodinger particle with two internal components moving in a random potential. We show that this model can be implemented by the interaction of cold atoms with external lasers and additional Zeeman and Stark shifts. By direct numerical simulations a crossover from an exponential Anderson-type localization to an anomalous power-law behavior of the intensity correlation is found when the spin-orbit coupling becomes large. The power-law behavior is connected to a Dyson singularity in the density of states emerging at zero energy when the system approaches the quasi-relativistic limit of the random mass Dirac model. We discuss conditions under which the crossover is observable in an experiment with ultracold atoms and construct explicitly the zero-energy state, thus proving its existence under proper conditions.Comment: 4 pages and 4 figure

The BSUIN project

Baltic Sea Underground Innovation Network (BSUIN) is an European Union funded project that extends capabilities of underground laboratories. The aim of the project is to join efforts in making the underground laboratories in the Baltic Sea Region’s more accessible for innovation, business development and science by improving the availability of information about the underground facilities, service offerings, user experience, safety and marketing.The development of standards for the characterization of underground laboratories will allow to compared them with each other. This will help you choose the best places for physical measurements such as neutrino physics or searching for dark matter. The project concerns laboratories where so far no measurements have been made, and even undergrounds where there are no organized laboratories yet.The description of the BSUIN project and the first results of characterization of natural radioactive background in underground laboratories will be presented ˙ The BSUIN Project is funded by Interreg Baltic Sea funding cooperation [2]

The Synthesis Telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory

We describe an aperture synthesis radio telescope optimized for studies of the Galactic interstellar medium (ISM), providing the ability to image extended structures with high angular resolution over wide fields. The telescope produces images of atomic hydrogen emission using the 21-cm HI spectral line, and, simultaneously, continuum emission in two bands centred at 1420 MHz and 408 MHz, including linearly polarized emission at 1420 MHz, with synthesized beams of 1 degree and 3.4 degrees at the respective frequencies.Comment: Accepted for publication by Astronomy and Astrophysics, Supplement Serie

Development and implementation of an herbal and natural product elective in undergraduate medical education

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medical students have consistently expressed interest in learning about alternative healing modalities, especially herbal and natural products. To fill this void in medical education at our institution, a novel elective was developed and implemented for fourth year medical students. This herbal/natural product course uses guest lecturers, classroom presentations, and active learning mechanisms that include experiential rotations, case-based learning, and team-based learning to increase student knowledge of herbal/natural product safety and efficacy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Knowledge outcomes were evaluated via administration of a pre- and post-course test (paired student <it>t</it>-test). End-of-course evaluations (Likert-type questions and narrative responses) were used to assess student opinion of knowledge and skills imparted by the elective and overall course content (mean, standard deviation).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over three academic years, 23 students have enrolled in this elective. More than 60% of participants have been female and nearly half of the students (43%) have pursued residencies in primary care. Completion of the course significantly increased student knowledge of common herbal/natural product mechanisms, uses, adverse effects, and drug-interactions as determined by a pre- and post-course knowledge assessment (45% ± 10% versus 78% ± 6%; p < 0.0001). The course was highly rated by enrollees (overall course quality, 4.6 of 5.0 ± 0.48) who appreciated the variety of activities to which they were exposed and the open classroom discussions that resulted. While students tended to view some alternative medical systems with skepticism, they still believed it was valuable to learn what these modalities encompass.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Development and implementation of a herbal/natural product elective that engages undergraduate medical students through active learning mechanisms and critical analysis of the literature has proven effective in increasing knowledge outcomes and is deemed to be a valuable curricular addition by student participants. In the future, it will be of interest to explore mechanisms for expanding the course to reach a larger number of students within the time, financial, and logistical constraints that currently exist.</p

Differential expression and functional characterization of luteinizing hormone receptor splice variants in human luteal cells : Implications for luteolysis

The human LH receptor (LHR) plays a key role in luteal function and the establishment of pregnancy through its interaction with the gonadotropins LH and human chorionic gonadotropin. We previously identified four splice variants of the LHR in human luteinized granulosa cells (LGCs) and corpora lutea (CL). Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that expression of the full-length LHR (LHRa) and the most truncated form (LHRd) changed significantly in CL harvested at different stages of the ovarian cycle (P < 0.01, ANOVA). LHRa expression was reduced in the late luteal CL (P<0.05). Conversely, an increase in LHRd expression was observed in the late luteal CL (P<0.01). Chronic manipulation of human chorionic gonadotropin in LGC primary cultures supported the in vivo findings. LHRd encodes a protein lacking the transmembrane and carboxyl terminal domains. COS-7 cells expressing LHRd were unable to produce cAMP in response to LH stimulation. COS-7 cells coexpressing LHRd and LHRa also failed to generate cAMP in response to LH, suggesting that this truncated form has a negative effect on the signaling of LHRa. Immunofluorescence staining ofLGC and COS-7 cells implied that there is a reduction in cell surface expression ofLHRa when LHRd is present. Overall, these results imply expression of LHR splice variants is regulated in the human CL. Furthermore, during functional luteolysis a truncated variant could modulate the cell surface expression and activity of full-length LHR.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe